During Michigan’s hot summer months, humid air can keep your home’s central air conditioner working overtime to keep the air inside cool and comfortable. While one of an air conditioner’s main purposes is to remove moisture from the air to reduce humidity, in some cases humidity can still remain at unhealthy levels, leading to air quality problems. If the indoor humidity climbs above 60 percent you may notice condensation on windows, a musty smell and mold growth in bathrooms and other areas of your home.
What Is the Best Relative Humidity Level During Summer?
Many newer digital and smart thermostats will display the relative humidity (RH) in your home. You can also buy a digital hygrometer to measure the humidity levels. For healthy air and comfort a range of 30-50% RH is ideal.
The Effects of High Humidity In the Home
Besides being just plain uncomfortable, excessive humidity can cause a number of problems that can effect your health, including crating an ideal environment for mold and mildew growth and dust mites – both of which can lead to allergies and other respiratory problems.
Drastic humidity swings between seasons can also damage your home by warping wood floors, cracking wood furniture, and deteriorating paint and wall paper.
Controlling Humidity Levels In the Home
While your central AC’s condenser removes much of the humidity in the air, it’s also important to avoid adding additional humidity into the air. Sources of humidity include: cooking, laundry, bathing and other household tasks. It’s important to ensure that there is adequate ventilation in the kitchen, bathroom and laundry area. If humidity is a problem in these spaces, consider adding or increasing the size of the ventilation and installing exhaust fans to remove the stale humid air.
When the temperatures are lower, consider leaving doors open to allow air to circulate and opening drapes and partially opening blinds on sunny days can also reduce the buildup of excess moisture in the home.
If you have excessive humidity in your home, call Superior Plumbing & Heating. Our HVAC professionals can inspect your system to ensure that it’s operating correctly and offer effective solutions for removing excessive humidity when needed.